greeting cards
With all the coronavirus stuff going around, I find I’m not sad to be home with Morris and our cat, Kismet, largely on “lock down”. It’s decidedly a weird, wild world we are in these days, and I sure hope you are feeling well.
I would very much love to be able to wave a magic wand and make this go away for all of us, but of course I can’t. Please know that I am sending love.
Morris and I recently returned from a more than two-week vacation, just in time for Thanksgiving week. Oh. And we both got sick just after our vacation started and three weeks later, we are still sick.
BUT!
It is Shop Small Saturday and I would be remiss in missing out on posting here that I have an offer for you. If you buy three greeting cards, I will send you a FREE “I Saw Three Ships” card. In fact, I’ll send you one for every three cards you purchase.Below you can see just some of the options available over on the greeting cards page
I mean, technically, we aren’t ready, but at least we’ve decided (a) when we are leaving to go to my cousin’s daughter’s wedding, (b) where we are staying, (c) what we are wearing, (d) what the gift is, and (e) when we are coming home again.
And we’ve picked a wedding card. For the first time ever, we are using one of MY cards. I know that might sound strange, since I’ve been turning art into greeting cards for almost two years now, but it really is the first time we are using one for ourselves. This is, in part, because I adore greeting cards and often shop for them everywhere I go (especially if I’m in locations with museums or independent stationers and a good card assortment).
Sonnet 116 by W. Shakespeare
Shall we to the marriage of true minds admit impediments? Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or threatens with the remover to remove. Oh no! It is an ever-fixèd mark that looks on tempests and is not shaken. It is the star to every wandering bark . . .
This will be the card that goes with (okay, contains) our guest. This card is available at Olde Pear Primitives in Cape May, NJ, and at MADE. Artisan Marketplace in Woodbury. It, and all of its friends, are also available in my online shop, which you can access using the button below!
And hey! If you are interested in signing up for my mailing list, where you will get information on new products, what is happening, plus more. Just click on over to my “home” page and fill in the form!
Well hello! It’s almost the middle of June (what? how?).
There’s a full moon coming on June 15th, by the way, so if you are a person who is into moon energy, keep an eye on that, and maybe figure out what no longer serves you and what you want to release and do that.
June is known for being wedding season (which means, by the way, that it is also anniversary season), and it turns out that I have three greeting cards that are perfect for that:
If any of these are your jam, they are available in my online shop for $5 each, or 3 for $13.50 (and there are another 20 or so options from which to choose). These cards are also available at Olde Pear Primitives on Lafayette Street in Cape May, New Jersey, and at MADE. Artisan Marketplace in Woodbury, NJ (though I think you only get the discount on multiples at my site). They are all blank inside, and if you’d like ideas for easy copy to add inside, I’ve got you covered here:
Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!
Celebrating your life together,
I/we are so happy for the two of you!
You go together like tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches!
Okay, so maybe that last option is a bit too out there, but those first three are solid starters. And here’s a pro tip: if you don’t plan on writing too much more, just start with your phrase in the middle of the middle of the inside of the card, not at the top, so you don’t feel like you have to add a whole lot more.
I popped into the local library earlier this week to pick up a bag full of books, and was immediately reminded that I still have paintings on display at the Monroe Township Library in Williamstown, NJ. From left to right, the three paintings are “Beyond Fences”, “Muriel’s Garden”, and “Shine”. Here they are, from two angles:
I consider myself a lucky girl, even if I am typing this while wearing a wrist brace on my left arm and nursing a bum right hip. I’ve had a LOT of my business dreams come true since I started my art business in August of 2017. Last year saw me accepted into a major, juried art show, selling at street festivals, with tambourines for sale in a local gallery here in Williamstown, and interviewed on TV about my art practice, among other things. Like the studio addition on our house, which is just a gorgeous, light-filled space. One of my goals was also to get my pieces into stores, and I’ve already told you about Mystic Ginger Collective, which is seriously just the best salon space I’ve set foot in—it’s simply filled with positive energy, and as a person who is susceptible to that these days (I’ve gone full “woo”, I believe), you can just feel things become lighter as you enter Kellee’s space in Blackwood.
But today, today was a specific business dream come true. You see, somewhere around December of 2017 or January of 2018, I sat down and wrote a big list of goals, some of which were perhaps more in the “wish” category. And one of my fondest desires was to have my art in a shop or gallery in Cape May. And today, that dream came true, when the beautiful shop Olde Pear Primitives opened in its new location at 523 Lafayette Street in Cape May, New Jersey.
Some of this is to say that making vision boards and writing out your dreams really does work, at least some of the time. I mean, if that’s all I ever did, I doubt this would have come to pass, but the fact that I brought that idea from the ether into the real world by writing it down first, and then took action by networking and attending events, one of which led to this amazing opportunity . . . well, let’s just say, it’s the Universe at work. I’m super happy and thankful today!
I am so excited to have several new card designs available for you! They are all made from my original artwork, as I’m sure you’ve come to expect, but I went and used a design program to add text to two of them.
As tomorrow is my birthday, it’s fitting that one of the cards is quite specifically a birthday card. The other card with added text says “Thinking of You”, and is, I think, appropriate for the regular sort of thinking of you purposes, as well as being used as a sympathy card.
Cool and Calm
“Chart your own path” and “Thinking of you”
Colorful
additions
“Happy Birthday!” and “Janet’s Light”
As always, greeting cards are available in my web shop, and are priced $5 each, or 3 for $13.50. If you would like more than three, please get in touch. I’m happy to quote you a price and hook you up. Feel free to browse greeting cards here.
And starting next Saturday, April 13th, all 24 of my greeting card designs will be available for you to shop in person at Olde Pear Primitives, located at 523 Lafayette Street in Cape May, New Jersey!
Earlier this week I took a short break from South Carolina and flew home to New Jersey, where I got to see my husband (YAY!) and my cat (YAY!) and have an IV for my rheumatoid arthritis (yay?) and take a quick trip to one of my favorite towns in my state, Cape May, to live out a bona fide business dream.
Here’s a little roundup of the flight, husband, and IV. That’s a shot of the Virginia coast from the plane window on my way home, Morris with Kismet as we played cards, and me in one of the fancy new infusion chairs at my doctor’s office:
And then! On Friday, Morris and I drove to Cape May. Specifically, to Olde Pear Primitives, which is fixing to open on Saturday, April 13th. Olde Pear Primitives is located at 523 Lafayette Street, right on the corner by the light (near the Acme and the bike rental place, if you know Cape May at all). It’s a cheerful, welcoming space, run by a cheerful, welcoming proprietor. See?
Me with Genevieve. You can see some of the jewelry and pillows and candles already in stock in the space! Photo © Morris L. Siegel 2019
Below are some images of my work on display at Olde Pear Primitives © Genevieve of Olde Pear Primitives.
Can I just share with you all how excited I am about having my work in a shop in Cape May? It’s literally a business dream come true for me. I will be selling my greeting cards (all 24 of them!) there, as well as tambourines, hot air balloon pieces, sailboat collage paintings, the small “Shine” piece you see above left, and some heart collages. You can find more about Olde Pear Primitives on their Facebook page, but the grand opening is on Saturday, April 6th! I am sorry that I’ll be missing it, but I will still be in South Carolina for a bit longer. I can’t wait to visit once it’s open, though!
And yes, I am now completely distracted from singing the Beatles song of that name. It’s such a syrupy song, but I still completely and totally love it.
Here for me is currently in South Carolina, where I am staying with my parents as my dad continues to recover from surgery to remove a cancerous esophagus. He is doing remarkably well, which is good. And I am keeping super busy with his home care, which is . . . busy. I have, however, also been finding time to learn a bit more about watercolors, so here, have a small bouquet:
Everything’s coming up roses . . .
There right now is New Jersey, where my home and studio (and husband and cat) are located. Other things located there: TWO businesses where you can currently buy my art, ONE that is opening on April 6th, which will carry my greeting cards and some art, and ONE MORE that is opening in late April. You can find a list of “Where to find my products” any time on my ABOUT page at my website, or by clicking the link in this sentence, but here’s the list:
The Grand Galleria at 405 S. Main Street in Williamstown, NJ, has several of my art tambourines in it. The Galleria is typically open when shows are on at the Grand Theatre.
Mystic Ginger at 102 S. Black Horse Pike in Blackwood, NJ, has several of my art tambourines as well. Mystic Ginger is the coolest hybrid space: part salon, part herbalist, part sales gallery for local artists. Open Tuesday through Saturday, hours vary. Their website is here.
Olde Pear Primitives at 523 Lafayette St. in Cape May, NJ, opens on April 6th. You will find my complete line of greeting cards, as well as some original art pieces, for sale when the new store space opens in a few weeks! Find them on FB, or at their website.
MADE Artisan Marketplace, 65 N. Broad St., Woodbury, NJ. MADE is currently in the process of renovating and moving into the building once owned by Franklin Davenport, who was Benjamin Franklin’s nephew. The mixed-use space will have gallery space, maker spaces, and selling spaces, plus an attached espresso bar. It’s gonna be cool! And likely will open near the end of April. More info to come, both here and on MADE’s website.
Where is an internet business if not everywhere? You can always shop for greeting cards, art tambourines, original literary collages, and paintings of various and sundry sorts on my website. Just pick your category from the top of the home page! And hey, while you’re at my home page, why not sign up for my email newsletter? It gets you info on what’s up, when, and passes along lots of tips and info on living life in a positive manner. Because we all want “to lead a better life”, as McCartney wrote and sang to open the song that loaned its title to this blog post.
You can see some of my greeting cards here. It’s a slideshow, so click to swipe!
©Kelly Ramsdell 2017 Original piece is in a private collection in Richmond, VA
October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.
Anne reveled in the world of color about her.
“Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill—several thrills? I’m going to decorate my room with them.”
Doesn’t that above excerpt from Chapter 16 of Anne of Green Gables make your heart sing, at least a little? That Lucy Maud (L.M.) Montgomery sure knew how to write about the seasons.
The image at the top of the post is of a piece of art I created in 2017, which sold straightaway to a collector in Virginia, but I do have greeting cards featuring the image available in my online shop. And I did another original art piece featuring this quote, since I love it so much, the original of which is available online as well. Here’s what it looks like:
©2017 Kelly Ramsdell Original currently available at 20% off.
Of course, it’s only natural that autumn leaves drift by your window, right? So I also have a print featuring a rather wry statement by Elinor Dashwood, one of the two heroines (some would say THE heroine) of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility. After listening to her younger sister, Marianne, rhapsodizing about how beautiful their now-distant home must be in the autumn, Elinor responds, “It is not every one who has your passion for dead leaves.”
©2017 Kelly Ramsdell Currently available at 20% off.
To celebrate the scarier part of the season, I created a piece entitled “Nevermore”, which features some Poe-like imagery, including a collaged raven perched upon a skull, rather than on the “bust of Pallas”. The original piece of artwork is in a private collection in Massachusetts, but greeting cards featuring the image are available in my online shop for the Poe lovers in your life (or just to send for Halloween).
©2017 Kelly Ramsdell Original sold. Greeting cards available.
And for this month, all four of these items (two original pieces of art, and as many of each of the greeting cards as I have) are discounted 20%. So these two greeting cards are offered at $4, rather than the usual $5. And each of the original artworks are 20% off as well.
Finally, I have two additional Halloween-related pieces available in my online shop. They are each $65 unframed, or matted and framed at $90. The first is listed as BOO!, and the second as Things That Go Bump in the Night. No further discounts will be taken on these two original art pieces for Halloween.
